Pattern 1908 Web Waistbelt, marked on the inside back centre "M.E. CO LTD. L" (Mills Equipment Company / Large) This is the standard WW I British and Canadian web belt. Canada used it between1916 and 1939. These were on issue for the first troops leaving Canada for overseas with P.08 webbing. Introduced with the Web Equipment 1908 (W.E. Patt. '08) by List of Changes L. of C. §14288, dated 31 January 1908, the Belt, waist, was the center of the W.E. Patt. '08 system. All of the components attached to the Belt, the Braces, or both. This allowed the entire Web Equipment to be put on and taken off fully assembled, like a waistcoat. This was a significant improvement over earlier patterns, in which each item had its own sling or strap and had to be put on separately. The Waist belt underwent several changes during its service life. As first introduced with W.E., Patt. '08, the Waist belt was 3-inches wide and came in two lengths, Small (40-inches long) and Large (48-inches long). The Belt is fastened by a double Twigg buckle at the front, and is adjustable at the buckle end. There are two 2-inch web tabs attached at the rear. These tabs are angled outwards. Each tab has a 2-inch Twigg buckle at the top and a brass tip on the bottom end. In the early Belts, such as the one shown here, this is a plain brass tip that is simply crimped in place. This belt is maker marked "M.E. Co.", size marked "L".